The Human Face of COVID-19

2024 Holiday Helping Hand

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Join us for Moms Against Poverty’s Holiday Helping Hand Giftwrapping and Toy Drive on December 15th, 2024. A special event dedicated to bringing joy to Bay Area children during the holiday season. This event will occur from 12 PM to 3 PM at Burlingame Parks & Recreation at 850 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA 94010. Your toy donations will help brighten the holidays for local children in need. Additional drop-off locations are available at the Burlingame Public Library – Main, Burlingame Library – Easton Branch, and the Moms Against Poverty Office at 851 Burlway Rd Ste 800, Burlingame, CA 94010.

Our Stories

The Human Face of COVID-19

By Daniel Judge

Imagine you own a diner, not a restaurant chain, a modest, small hole in the wall that fits twenty at most. Your grandfather built this place with his own hands, or maybe it was his father; you can’t remember. Mama grew up playing on these tiled floors, serving the parents of the same customers you see every day. She taught you how to cook, and how to run a business, and just about everything else as well. She worked her fingers to the bone until you were ready, and retired to the farm your dad grew up in.

Life has never been easy. The work hours have been long, and some months were tough when all the bills lined up in exactly the wrong way, but everything always worked out in the past. Your wife Anne runs a used bookstore and sometimes drops by for lunch. Her smile is enough to brighten even the worst of days. 

At home, you have two daughters. It pains you that you can’t give them all you think they deserve. But between your work and Anne’s you’ll barely have enough to put them through state school, maybe even a better university with scholarships. You’ve never been to college. That only motivates you more to provide your kids such an opportunity.

You and Anne have a plan to better the lives of your family. However, imagine if this plan suddenly fell apart in a matter of weeks.

Jack and Anne both work in the service industry, catering to a small but loyal customer base. Their budget is tight. They rely on every penny that they earn, and now, they are hardly earning anything.

Imagine you own a diner, not a restaurant chain, a modest, small hole in the wall that fits twenty at most. Your grandfather built this place with his own hands, or maybe it was his father; you can’t remember. Mama grew up playing on these tiled floors, serving the parents of the same customers you see every day. She taught you how to cook, and how to run a business, and just about everything else as well. She worked her fingers to the bone until you were ready, and retired to the farm your dad grew up in.

Life has never been easy. The work hours have been long, and some months were tough when all the bills lined up in exactly the wrong way, but everything always worked out in the past. Your wife Anne runs a used bookstore and sometimes drops by for lunch. Her smile is enough to brighten even the worst of days. 

At home, you have two daughters. It pains you that you can’t give them all you think they deserve. But between your work and Anne’s you’ll barely have enough to put them through state school, maybe even a better university with scholarships. You’ve never been to college. That only motivates you more to provide your kids such an opportunity.

You and Anne have a plan to better the lives of your family. However, imagine if this plan suddenly fell apart in a matter of weeks.

Jack and Anne both work in the service industry, catering to a small but loyal customer base. Their budget is tight. They rely on every penny that they earn, and now, they are hardly earning anything.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has decimated much of the service industry. Individuals are no longer eating out at restaurants, like Jack’s. People are more concerned with buying food than leisure items, like used books from Anne’s store. When people are nervous every single time they leave the house, they won’t risk unnecessary contact with others. Recently, both Jack and Anne closed their stores and filed for unemployment. 

Jack and Anne live paycheck-to-paycheck with barely any savings. Without jobs, they can barely provide for their children, let alone themselves. Jack can’t even visit his parents without risking their health.

Life seems tougher than ever, but luckily MAP exists for exactly this reason. We make it our goal to provide food and essentials to families like these so that they can weather tough times and endure until this pandemic is over. MAP’s food programs have impacted thousands of families, including Jack and Anne’s, giving at least a measure of relief and normalcy to those who are struggling.

Life will still be difficult for Jack and Anne, but now they have some support and know that they are not alone. This is only possible through everyone’s support and contributions. Now is the time to come together as a nation and help those in need.

Your donation will help provide one month's food to families like Jack’s. 

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U.S. FOOD INSECURITY: Coronavirus Campaign

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